Rs199m approved for medical waste unit

Islamabad—Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), one of the largest public sector hospital in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, will soon set up a unit for shredding, sterilization and disposal of medical waste. In this regard, the government has approved establishment of the unit at PIMS, Islamabad at a cost of Rs 199 million in principal. According to official sources in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms here on Wednesday, the administration of the PIMS has been directed to rationalize the scope of the project. The hospital was without a proper equipment of its own to dispose of the medical waste that it generates.
A number of waste management projects conceived for the hospital in the past, but were not materialized due to management issues, said an official at PIMS. The plan was to install two state-of-the-art double-chamber incinerator plants at a cost of Rs 50 million for disposal of hospital waste. The management also planned to make these incinerators available to other hospitals and clinics in the city. The incineration process consists of combustion and reduction of organic waste substances to ashes.
The establishment of medical waste disposal unit was imperative as around ten thousands people from the twin cities and their suburbs visit PIMS everyday, generating about 100-150 kilograms in waste.—APP